Galvanizing apparatus



July 29, 1947. M. L. ECKMAN 2,424,803

' GALVANIZING nrmuus Filed Juno 9, 1944 III/II! I rr/ rrrzrrrrrrr r I 4 lli illn mm a 5 I mvwrom NEE/L LEG/(NAN A TwENEYS Patented July 29, 1941 um'rao STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 12.42amv public Steel Corporation,

Cleveland, Ohio, a'

corporation of New Jersey Application June .1844, Serial No. 539,407

1 Claim. (cl. ill-12.5)

This invention relates generally to apparatus for handling elongated cylindrical metal articles and more particularly to new and improved means for spreading liquid substantially uniformly on surfaces of magnetic metal tubular articles and removing excess liquid therefrom.

Galvanized tubes have been removed from galvanizing tanks heretofore in various manners, for example, by being lifted straight up and also by being pulled endwise, in each instance one end of the pipe being kept higher than the other end to enable the excess molten metal to iiow out of the tube and back into the tank. The thickness of coating metal on galvanized tubes so removed from the tank is not uniform circumferentially of the tube and more metal than is necessary or desirable remains in the tube, particularly if the tubes are spirally corrugated, as is quite common.

The present invention makes it possible to overcome these prior shortcomings and to make tubular articles which have galvanized coatin substantially uniform in thickness over all the surfaces of the article. These advantages are important commercially, especially in the 1- vanizing of tubular articles which are corrugated. This invention may also be used to good advantags on tubular articles or cylinders which have a liquid on surfaces thereof, including paint, pickling liquor and molten metals, and is gencrally useful in handling elongated cylindrical ma netic metal articles. whether coated with liquid or not.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification.

Figure 1. is a side elevational view of a 8 1- v pable of attracting a magnetic metal article to and holding it against their surfaces. This attracting force may be furnished by magnets within the rollers or preferably by passing current thru windings in the rollers. These rollers 5 have concave article engaging surfaces 6 which, pref erabhr. are in the form of truncated cones with the small ends of the conesadjoining each other, but which. obviously. may be of various shapes,

even to the extent of being roughly semi-circular.

position the axis of the roll 5 at the desired various acute angles to the longitudinal axis of a tube belngwithdrawn from tank I thru ring 2.

An indicator ill at the upper end of extension 8 shows the angularity of the roll to the center line of the tube. Y

Each'housing I carries a roller 5 and its actuating means. In the illustrated modification of the invention the roller I is of the type which is made magnetic by the flow of current thru windni tank equipped with apparatus embodying one form of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Fig. l; and,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary and elevational view showing details of one of the magnetic rollers and associated parts.

In the figures. I designates a conventional tank 7 in which galvanizing metal may be maintained in a molten condition and in which Pipe or tubing A may be submerged. A conventional air ring 2 is located at one end of the tank I. This ring has a large enough inside diameter for the articles A being galvanized to pass axially therethru. The

ring is hollow, is connected to a source of air under pressure (not shown), and is provided with a plurality of openings circumferentially spaced therearound so that air may be discharged from the ring against substantially the entire outer surface of a tube A as it passes thru the ring.

A supporting frame 3 located at the discharge and of tank I supports cross bars 4 from which a plurality of rollers I are suspended. These rollings (not shown) in the roller. That roller I is s cured to a shaft I I which is rotatably'mounted in bearings in housing I and which is rotated by a gear II at one end meshing with another gear I! on the rotor shaft of. a motor ll attached to housing 1. The terminals of the windings within the roller are connected to slip rings i5 which are secured to. but, insulated from, block it on shaft ii and make sliding contact with terminals ll of a suitable source of electrical current. I

The cross bars 4 are at successively higher elevations and,lconsequently, the rollers 5. define part of an upwardly inclined path of travelfor the articles being moved thereby.

When a galvanized tube A is to be withdrawn from tank i, one end is raised and placed in ring 2 and the tube is then moved thru ring 2 until it is in contact with the first of the rolls 5, whereupon it ismagnetically attracted to and held against that roller. As the first roller revolves about its. axis, it propels the tube axially until it is simitudinal axis 'of the tube or pipe. As the tubular article moves upwardly on an incline due to the disposition of rolls 5 in an inclined plane, the

molten metal on the article flows downwardly toward the tank I. By varying the angularity of the rolls to the article the rate of rotation of the era are of the magnetic typ that is, they are ca-- article as well as the rate of longitudinal travel 7 This and many other desired readily obtainedby simply varying thesp'eedand i'erentially of the article and drains into the tank, thereby providing a substantially uniform coating of the galvanizing metal on the surface oi the articleand returning most of, ii not all, the excess metal to the galvanizing tank. when the article is corrugated eithercircumterentially or spirally the excess metal which otherwise would remain in the depressions flows, due to rotation or the article; over the crests. of the corrugations or spirally and thus progressively flows lengthwise o!- the' article toward the tank; without leaving considerable quantities of excess metal in the depressions.

The speed of rotation ofrollers I maybe varied within wide ranges, preferably, by using variable speed motors but also, if desired, by substituting iorgears l2 and I3 other gears havingdiflerent gearratios. The angularityof the longitudinal axis of roll 5 to the longitudinal axis of the tube may also be varied within wide limits by adjustment of extension 9. Since the speed of rotation of rollers! and the angularity of these rollers to the :tube engaging them affect not only the speed of rotationof the tube but also. its speed or longitudinal travel, it will be apparent that a wide variety of rotationalspeeds and longitudinal speeds of the tube may be obtained, and that these. conditions may be varied to I accomplish any one of a number of desired 'results. If, for example, the desire is to retainmost of the molten metal in the tube, but to spread it more or lessuniformly on the inner surface of the tube, the rotation of the tube" may be at such a speed that the tendency oi' the molten metal to-run lengthwise of thetubewill be substantially overcome and yet its tendency to flow circumferentially on the inner surface or the tube will be permitted. In this instance the speed of lengthwise movement of thetube mightbe rapid or slow, depending on the amount of molten metal inthe tube and the rate at which it cools' to a non-flowing temperature; I! it is desired that most of the molten metal in the'tube should flow out of thetube, the speed of rotation of the tube maybe slow enough'to permit of suchflow I while some circumferential flowis caused. In "I this'case the lengthwise movement otthe tube would be relatively slow.

conditions may be angularityioi the rolls. It will, therefore, be understood that the .roll angularity. and the gear ratiosindicated on the drawings are, merely rep- -,resentative of one set oi'condi tionsandthat "other conditions may be obtained by the simple adjustments above described. It will also be understood that the present invention is not limitedto tubes containing molten metal oranyotlierliquid, but that it may be employed in the handling of tubes of magnetic material which are to be simultaneously rotated and propelled endwise.

' It will be understood that the rollers 5 need not be arranged to move the article along an upwardly inclined path, altho that is preferable when the liquid removed from the article is to be returned to theltank from which the article was removed; when it is not important to collect the liquid in such a tank the rollers may be positioned to move the article along a downwardly inclined path, When the article has no liquid on it or removal oi excess liquid-from it isnot' especially desired. the rollers 6 may be positioned to'move ,the article along a horizontal path "="The rollers maybe located beneaththe' article-if desired but preferably when the article "carries any'liquid which should be kept away i'romthe'bearings or supports of therollers 3 Having thus describedrny invention so that others skilled in'the art maybeable to'understand and practice the same, I statethat what :I desire to secure by Letters Patent is deflned in what is claimed;

'Whatis'claimedisr i In galvanizing apparatus including a tank for molten galvanizing metal and a ring to discharge gas under pressure against the outer surface 01 a tubular magnetic article as it'ismoved endwise therethrough from the tank, the "combination of a frame adjacent tosaid tank, roll housings, magnectic rollers, each housing carrying one of said rollers and the rollers being "disposed. in an incllne'd plane extending; upwardly from said ring. said rollers beingi positionedto engage with the upper surface ofsaid article and energized to attract-said article thereto, adjustable means suspending said housings from said frame anclpositioning the longitudinal axes -of;said rollersv at acute angles to the longitudinal axis of, the arti file of this patent:

Number cle, and separate motors carriedby each of said housings, each motor being operatively connected to-the roller of its housingto rotate said roller.

. MERIL L. ECKMAN.

aEraaENoas corral) v The following reierences'are-oi record in the STATES rA'raNTs 7 Name Date 1,659,848 Wilson V Feb. 21, 1928 1,908,400 Moon May 2,1933 2,038,204 Bidle Apr. 21, 1936 2,051,6 34 Carroll et al. Aug. 18, 1936 2,074,892 Derry Mar. 23, 1937 1 1,799,760 Moon Apr, 7, 1931' 083,458 Gibbs Mar. 31,1908 947,440 Greenfield 'Jan. 25, 1910 

